Jason Peters has backed the Philadelphia Eagles into a corner

The Philadelphia Eagles have no choice but to give Jason Peters a raise.

Following the news of Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Andre Dillard tearing his biceps, a majority of individuals around the city of brotherly love assumed future Hall of Famer Jason Peters would simply slide on back over to the blind side. After all, Peters has been the Eagles LT for the past 11 years, and he’s done so at an extremely high level.

Peters was initially allowed to test the open market this past offseason, as Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia front office laid out their plan to move forward with last year’s first-round pick in Dillard. The former Washington State tackle had an extremely shaky rookie season, but the team felt that after an offseason of hitting the weight room, that he was ready to slide in as the permanent LT.

Former All-Pro right guard Brandon Brooks ruptured his achilles earlier in the summer, so the Eagles quickly reached back out to their former franchise tackle. Despite never actually playing the position before, Peters was brought back on a one-year deal to play RG, replacing the injured Brooks. Peters and the Eagles agreed on base salary of $3 million, with potential bonuses taking it up towards $6 million.

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However, like previously mentioned, Dillard’s season has ben swiftly ended to a torn biceps that he suffered in practice earlier this week. Dillard was placed on the IR almost immediately after the injury, so the chance of him returning is now officially nil.

One would assume with Dillard now out of the lineup that Peters would take over the LT duties, and while the 16-year pro would likely prefer to play at his natural position in 2020, it seems he views this as an “opportunity” to make his pockets a little deeper as well. Coming out in a report Saturday morning, it was discovered that Peters actually wants a bigger salary in 2020, to reflect his role as a starting LT in the NFL.

Fans of the team were quick to jump on Peters for being “selfish”, but to be completely honest, the longtime Eagle has a pretty fair argument here. There are currently 30 left tackles scheduled to make more money than Peters in 2020, and 17 of them are receiving salaries north of $10 million. Peters played the position at an extremely high level in 2019, and there are without question not 30 better LTs in the NFL currently.

Considering the list of LTs includes some rookies as well, it really is just a slap in the face to Peters considering what he’s accomplished and the burden/importance that the LT position plays in the NFL. Protecting Carson Wentz is of the upmost importance, and Peters does that better than anyone on the roster.

The Philadelphia Eagles only real choice in this scenario is to give into Peters’ demands. While it definitely sets a bad precedent for future contract negotiations, running out a guy like Jordan Mailata or Matt Pryor at LT would be absolutely disastrous.

Losing both Dillard and Brooks just a few months apart from each other is a huge blow to the Eagles success chances in 2020, and they’re already scrambling to find replacements for both. There’s not a whole lot on the open market, and their in-house options are inexperienced beyond belief. Pissing off their Hall of Fame tackle in Peters is the last thing they should be looking to do.